Protestors should listen to presentations – they may change their minds

Published:10:54Wednesday 16 March 2011

Share this article

EDITOR – In response to the letters regarding the proposed Lindum Development Golf Road Project.

I also attended the public meeting at the Meridale Centre, in Sutton on Sea, organised by the Lindum Group.

Paul McSorley, the property development director, took the meeting and suggested doing a repeat of the original consultation for the benefit of those members of the public who did not attend the first one.

He then proposed that questions could be asked and answered accordingly.

There were constant interruptions as soon as he started to speak and this continued throughout the meeting.

I am for the development in principle, but when I attended the meeting against the proposal, several points were raised by the group that concerned me also.

I therefore had a list of questions to ask at the Meridale meeting.

However, I did not need to ask them, as Mr McSorley raised and answered the concerns himself in his presentation – in great detail may I add.

Due to some people not listening, he had to repeat himself several times.

He was also asked questions about individual properties and when he didn’t have the imformation, he offered to speak to the residents after the meeting in order to take their contact details and even offered to visit one property personally.

I was very impressed that despite the hostile reception he was up against, Mr McSorley conducted himself in a dignified way.

Due to the heckling, shouting and constant interruptions by some of the members of the public, along with one of the leaders of the protest group dressing up in a cassock-type outfit with anti notices pinned all over it, and particularly due to the impressive presentation, I am more in favour of the project than I was initially.